2024 TELUS Canadian Championship — Quarter-Finals (Leg 1)
Forge FC vs. CF Montréal
May 7, 2024 at 11 a.m. ET
Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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It won’t exactly be a cup night under the lights, but it should be a magical afternoon morning in Hamilton on Tuesday when Forge FC look to finally slay a giant in the Canadian Championship quarter-final against CF Montréal.

This first leg of the two-legged knockout tie will be Forge’s fifth game all-time against Major League Soccer opposition, and their fourth against Montréal in particular. However, despite all their silverware in the Canadian Premier League — four championships in five years — and their success on the international stage in Concacaf competitions, they have yet to beat an MLS side.

Forge have been close twice; they took Montréal to an 11-round penalty shootout in the 2021 semifinals, and in the 2020 final (played in 2022) they were inches from lifting the Voyageurs’ Cup but fell, again on penalties, to Toronto FC.

The more recent meetings between these sides have not been quite so tight, however. Forge have travelled to Stade Saputo in both of their previous two Canadian Championship campaigns, and didn’t score a goal either time, losing 3-0 and then 2-0.

This time, Forge might find themselves in better position than ever to tackle an MLS foe. They have flown out of the gates in the CPL, winning each of their first three games to sit on a perfect nine points, with a game in hand on Pacific and Atlético Ottawa sitting above them. Last week, they booked this date with Montréal by dominating local rivals York United FC, winning 3-1 in that preliminary round match.

However, the MLS side have plenty of motivation of their own. They have won this tournament five times, but not since 2021. Last year, they went all the way to the final but lost at BC Place to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

This is CF Montréal’s first season under new head coach Laurent Courtois, who took over in the off-season from Hernan Losada. In 11 games to begin the 2024 season, they’re 3-3-4 and sit 11th in the Eastern Conference, just outside the playoff positions. They’re winless in their last three, losing 4-1 to Nashville SC on Saturday, and they’ve had trouble away from home this year, losing for of their last five road games.

Still, Montréal are an MLS team with enough quality to pose a major challenge. Forge have been desperate to beat MLS opposition for the past six years, and they likely feel more ready than ever. They went toe-to-toe with Liga MX giants Chivas in February’s Concacaf Champions Cup tie, and that was before they’d had time to find the rhythm of a normal season. Now, after a torrid start to the season, the four-time Canadian Premier League champions have their eyes on another Canadian trophy this year.

Under this year’s Canadian Championship format, the quarter-finals are two-legged home-and-away ties, with the away goals rule in effect. After this week’s opener in Hamilton, these two clubs will head to Stade Saputo in Montréal on Wednesday, May 22 (7:30 p.m. ET) to officially decide who will take on either Toronto FC or CS Saint-Laurent in the semifinals.

All CPL and Canadian Championship matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer, available as a linear channel on Telus’ Optik TV (Channel 980) as well as online at OneSoccer.ca, through the OneSoccer app and on the fuboTV Canada platform.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Montréal’s squad features plenty of danger: In the last two years, Forge have conceded five goals to CF Montréal, and four of them have been scored by Sunusi Ibrahim. The Nigerian striker has been primarily a bench option for his club this year, but given his history against the Hammers he could get the nod. Montréal have plenty of other dangerous players, though; their all-Canadian midfield of Samuel Piette and Mathieu Choinière will be familiar to Forge, who had trouble playing through it last season. New since the last time these sides met is Montréal’s improved danger from the wings; they brought back Canadian Raheem Edwards to play as a left wingback, opposite from Brazilian addition Ruan who has been patrolling the right side. Up front, another young Canadian in Jules-Anthony Vilsaint could be a serious threat as he becomes more comfortable in his role as one of the club’s main forwards. Also of note, as has typically been the case when CF Montréal play CPL opposition, is the Canadian Premier League representation in their squad. Former Cavalry FC defender Joel Waterman is likely to suit up in the centre of defence, while ex-Valour FC shot stopper Jonathan Sirois will surely be in goal.

• Expect bravery from confident Forge attack: Every time Forge FC have gone up against unknown or higher-level opposition, whether in the Canadian Championship or Concacaf tournaments, Bobby Smyrniotis has been firm on one thing: He will never compromise his team’s core footballing identity in exchange for a cheap win. Even against Guadalajara in the Champions Cup, Forge did all they could to stick to their principles of building out of the back, looking to possess the ball and play front-footed attacking soccer. It’s a philosophy that can be risky in games like these; a park-the-bus approach might take the air out of the game and allow the underdog side to snatch a result from a counter-attack, but Forge would much rather score goals the way they normally do, by breaking down an opponent and creating opportunities thanks to their movement and combinations between the front four. Fortunately for them, that’s been working rather well lately; they’ve scored 10 goals in four games to start the year. Tristan Borges was the CPL’s Player of the Month in April with two goals and three assists, plus he added another one in the Canadian Championship win over York United; David Choinière and Béni Badibanga both also have two league goals, and Choinière added a third against York as well.

• School day crowd to provide unique atmosphere: No, the listed 11 a.m. kickoff time is not a typo here. This cup match is kicking off on a Tuesday morning, as Forge welcome over 11,000 students from 100 schools around the Hamilton area. Originally, Forge were set to play Halifax Wanderers in this school day game, but Canadian Championship scheduling meant they had to move that fixture and instead host CF Montréal in this time slot. It’ll be an interesting new dynamic for the players, whose prematch routines will be starting much earlier than they would normally — perhaps some coffee might be in order? Regardless, the packed stadium should make for a boisterous atmosphere. With so many local kids in attendance, Forge will have extra motivation to put on a show and, hopefully, create a few new fans of the club.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Forge FC wins: 0 || CF Montréal wins: 3 || Draws: 0

Last meeting:

May 25, 2023 — CF Montréal 2-0 Forge FC

KEY QUOTES

“We know how well-coached they are, and their capacity to try to move the opposition, to try to use the overload out wide and create numerical advantages and rotations and arrive in quality time with numbers in those half-space entries they’re looking for. We know it’s a good soccer team, the only question would be are they going to change their strategy and their approach against us. We’ll find out, but we’re certainly prepared to face a team that’s really good technically and ultra motivated. — CF Montréal head coach Laurent Courtois

“Forge have won four out of five times; they’re a very, very good footballing team. They’re very well coached, Bobby knows how to win and those guys know how to win. That’s the main message, never go into these games lightly. You saw with Saint-Laurent beating Halifax, anything can happen in this competition.” — CF Montréal defender Joel Waterman

“Something about this competition and us playing each other. We keep on going at it each and every year. This one is a little bit different with the two legs, so it also sets up a little bit differently in how we’ve got to look at it.” — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis